ZEELAND -- Fishermen attending the Spring Salmon Spectacular hosted by Lakeshore Outfitters of Saugatuck were more concerned about the status of their chinook salmon fishery in Lake Michigan than the imposing thought of Asian carp.

"People aren't asking about Asian carp because they're worried about their chinook salmon fishery," Smith said. "But I guarantee you, if Asian carp were in Lake Michigan, they'd be asking about it."

About 300 fishing enthusiasts listened at the Holland Fish & Game Club in Zeeland as Smith talked about the alewife population and the decreasing weights of the fish. Questions were asked about the increasing evidence that salmon are eating gobies and are the salmon are starting to replace alewives in their diet.

There's concern about the fishery.

"The population is down, and it's scary to think about, especially when we saw how the chinook fishery collapsed on Lake Huron," Smith said.

That's why the DNR is asking the big lake anglers to weigh-in on the future of the fishery.

They're holding a meeting on April 14 at Lake Michigan College in Berrien County where people can make suggestions about what they want the chinook salmon population to look like in Lake Michigan.

Some anglers who attended the show wondered if the results the DNR had from their fisheries studies were telling the true tale.

View full sizeCory Olsen | MLive.comAaron Sybesma, owner of Lakshore Outfitters in Saugatuck tosses fishing equipment and lures to the crowd during his Spring Salmon Spectacular in Zeeland Wednesday evening.

Bill Maatman, of Holland, says he fishes many of the tournaments on Lake Michigan and sees things a little differently from what the DNR has found.

"They say the baitfish numbers are down, but if you go to the opposite side of the lake, (the salmon) have plenty of baitfish to eat."

One thing he does agree with the DNR on is the risk Asian carp present to the habitat.

"If they're in the Illinois River, they're going to be in Lake Michigan. Will I see it in my lifetime? I don't know, but I think my kids and grandkids will."

With all that's happened with invasive species in the Great Lakes, the lake is changing its face, Smith said.

"The questions we're looking at is 'where do we put our resources to work?' Do we increase the stocking in the southern portion of Lake Michigan where there's better chances of survival and pull some of those efforts from the northern part of the lake where the percentages for survival are less?"

Or, Smith says, do they increase their efforts up north to offset the challenge they're facing in success rates?

That's why they're so interested in working with the anglers who use the fishery, he said.

But the battle against Asian carp lives on, and the DNR is working to keep the risks of invasion down.

"The main idea is to get education out to the public so they're familiar with what big head or silver carp look like," he said. "(Fishermen) are our first line of defense, so if they catch something like that, then they know how to identify it and report it to the Department of Natural Resources."